ANC retains seats in two Eastern Cape ward by-elections

Nov 3, 2017

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape got a boost in confidence as it retained the two wards it won in the 2016 Municipal Elections in two ward by-elections held in the Buffalo City Metro and in the Elundini Local Municipality on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the IEC, the new ANC councillors are:

Boy-Boy Kalaniin Ward 27 in the Buffalo City Municipality. The ANC retained the seat it won in the 2016 Municipal Elections, increasing its margin with 56.03% of the votes cast as compared to 55.86% in the 2016 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 47.96%.

Bongani Julius Tshoba in Ward 12 in the Elundini Municipality. The ANC retained the seat it won in the 2016 Municipal Elections, increasing its margin to 96.79% of the votes cast as compared to 88.72% in the 2016 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 42.11%.

However, reacting to its defeat, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape on Friday it had also managed to increase its support base.

"The DA in the Eastern Cape is delighted by our strong performance in the ward 27 by-election in Buffalo City Metro (BCM) yesterday, where our overall share of the vote increased from 31% to 41%," said DA Eastern Cape leader, Nqaba Bhanga.

He said that this highlights the DA’s upward trajectory in the Eastern Cape and bodes well for 2019.

"We commend our candidate Vusi Jako for a race well run and extend a special word of gratitude to our voters in BCM who once again came out in their numbers to support the party," Bhanga added.

"This result shows that the people of BCM are fed-up with the ANC’s poor service delivery and corruption.

"We are committed to improving the lives of all BCM residents and providing them with a new beginning."